"'When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and
through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, you shall not be burned, nor shall the flame scorch you'"(Isaiah
43:2, NKJV).

When Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, was
brought before a tribunal, the proconsul said," 'Swear by the fortune of
Caesar. . . swear and I will release you; reproach Christ.'

"Polycarp responded: 'Eighty and six years I have served Him, and He has
done me no wrong. How can I speak evil of my King who saved me?'

"'I have wild beasts,' said the proconsul, 'and will expose you to them unless
you repent.'

This week we will see how three Hebrews, like Polycarp, faced a test concerning
faithfulness and worship. The first battle in this world was over worship
(Gen.
4:4-8,
1
John 3:12); the last will be, as well
(Rev.
14:9-12). How important that we understand the issues involved.

The Week at a
Glance:

Why did Nebuchadnezzar have the golden image made? Who delivered the
three boys, and of what is that deliverance symbolic? What is the difference
between believing in God and knowing God?

For a time after the vision in
Daniel
2, Nebuchadnezzar was influenced by the fear of God. However, the prosperity
attending his reign filled him with pride, and, in time, he resumed his idol
worship. He determined to reproduce the image he had seen, but his image
should be entirely of goldsymbolic of Babylon as an eternal,
indestructible, all-powerful kingdom that should stand forever.

Why
was the king's act of making the statue an act of defiance
against what Daniel, in
chapter
2, said would happen?See
Dan.
2:34, 35.

The event in
Daniel
3 is not dated, but it must have been several years after the vision
of
Daniel
2 (603 B.C.). A possible date is 594 B.C., when Zedekiah, as ruler of
Judah, was summoned to Babylon
(Jer.
51:59), most likely in connection with the dedication of the golden
statue.

What
did Nebuchadnezzar hope to achieve by inviting all the
officials of the realm and demanding their worship of the golden statue?Dan.
3:4-6.

Kings in ancient times always had to be wary of the danger of an internal
revolt. A ceremony such as we find in this chapter, where all the officials
had to show public allegiance to the king, would have served well to bring
them all into line. The act of bowing to the image would have indicated,
at least outwardly, obedience and loyalty to the king himself.

The death penalty for not bowing down to the idol seems rather harsh, but
absolute monarchs or rulers in any age have never taken kindly to challenges
to their authority. The king dared anyone to defy his power and authority,
and the officials knew he meant it. The fiery furnace was no idle threat
either.
Jeremiah
29:22 records that the king burned to death two Jewish men called Zedekiah
and Ahab. This makes the stand of the three Hebrews all the more remarkable.

Nebuchadnezzar, obviously, struggled with his legacyhe wanted
it to last forever. We all, to some degree, struggle with this same problem,
the sense of our own mortality and transience. What's our only hope, and
why? See
1
John 2:16, 17.

Who
reported to the king that Daniel's friends refused to
bow down to is image?Dan.
3:8. What possibly motivated them to tell the king?

In so vast a crowd, the king probably could not see that three men were still
standing, and certain men went to him to inform him. These Chaldeans were,
more than likely, jealous of the honors bestowed on the three Hebrews, and
they gladly took the opportunity to report them.

Prophecy tells us that in the last days another image will be set up to enforce
religious uniformity. A universal economic boycott and ultimately a death
decree will be issued against all who refuse to worship "the beast and its
image." Also, in both chapters, the number six, as a symbol of man under
the control of Satan, is prominent (see
Dan.
3:1). The worship of the golden image by the people in ancient Babylon
is referred to six times (see
Dan.
3:5, 7, 10, 12, 14, 18). And by God's design, in the book of Revelation,
the warning against worshiping the beast and his image is also given six
times (see
Rev.
13:15;
14:9,
11;
16:2;
19:20;
20:4).

On the plain of Dura officials of all ranks attended. The ceremony of dedication
was an act of worship of the power and might of Nebuchadnezzar, which the
three Hebrews refused to do. The whole story illustrates the close connection
between state and religion. This kind of onion has, in fact, characterized
most nations throughout history. The idea of a secular state, one that keeps
as much as possible out of the domain of religious affairs, is a fairly recent
phenomenon.

The conversation between the king and the three Hebrew youths is one of the
most remarkable recorded in Scripturean autocratic king and three young
men who defy his order because of their belief in the God of the universe.
What a scene!

What are some things that now, today, we are tempted to worship? Are
we, even as Christians, slowly but surely getting caught up in worshiping
something other than God? How can we know if we are, and how can we protect
ourselves from this subtle form of idolatry?

What
are the key elements in the response of the three young
Hebrews to the king's death threat?
Dan.
3:16-18. Rephrase what they said.

The word deliver is a key word that appears throughout the book of
Daniel. When Nebuchadnezzar asked them," 'Who is the god who will deliver
you from my hands?' "The three Hebrews replied that their God whom they served
was" 'able to deliver' "them from his hands
(Dan.
3:15, 17, NKJV). After the miracle in the fiery furnace, the king
confessed," 'there is no other God who can deliver like this"
(vs.
29, NKJV). Daniel's experience in
chapter
6 illustrates further that the God whom Daniel served is "able to deliver"
His people. Finally, at the end of the book we read that at the end of time
Michael, the Great Prince, shall stand up to deliver everyone who is found
written in the book of life
(Dan.
12:1).

Why
did the three Hebrews refuse to compromise in this matter
of bowing to the golden image?Exod
20:3-5.

In spite of the king's rage and fury, the three men would not bend or budge.
They obeyed Nebuchadnezzar as far as their conscience permitted. They journeyed
to the plain of Dura, but when their conscience told them, No farther, they
refused to join the other worshipers, knowing that they had" 'to obey God
rather than men'"
(Acts
5:29, NKJV). They refused to break God's law, which forbade idol
worship, regardless of whether or not God would deliver them.

Throughout Christian history there have been those who have responded similarly.
Fox 's Book of Martyrs traces the lives of thousands of Christians
who were killed for their allegiance to God.

Compromise is a favorite word of politicians. But is there a place
for compromise when it comes to matters of faith? If so, in what way and
under what circumstances? What things, if any, can or should be compromised?
How can we tell if we are compromising or simply being prudent?

Read
carefully
Daniel
3:14, 15. The king asked the three boys a question at the end of
verse
15. What was the question; how was it
answered?

"Who is the God who shall deliver you?" he asked. It was the same God who
(in
chapter
2) the king had confessed was" 'the God of gods, the Lord of kings"
(vs.
47,
NKJV).
How quickly, though, the king forgot. All through the Bible we can find similar
examples of God manifesting His power in a remarkable way, only for people
to so quickly forget.

What
did the words "Son of God" in
verse
25 mean to Nebuchadnezzar? Did he recognize who the fourth Being really
was?

Verse
25 alternately can be translated "son of the gods'," which simply means
a supernatural being. In
verse
28 Nebuchadnezzar identifies the fourth Being as an angel, but the biblical
text does not indicate whether Nebuchadnezzar understood the true nature
of the fourth Being.

Christians, of course, understand the Son of God as Jesus Christ Himself
(Matt.
8:29,
Rom.
1:4,
Heb.
7:3,
1
John 3:8). Here, in this chapter, we see a small foretaste of the
total victory over death that Christ gives to all His followers at the end
of time. He delivered these three boys in a remarkable manner then, and He
will deliver all of His followers in even a more remarkable manner when He
returns.

Think about Nebuchadnezzar, who one chapter earlier praised the same
God he now defied. In what ways do we find the same thing happening in us?
God works something miraculous in our lives, and before long we are doubting
and questioning Him. What can we do to protect ourselves from this common
spiritual trap?

When the three young Jews walked out of the fiery furnace with heads held
high, the effect on the assembled multitude must have been tremendous. They
saw that "the hair of their head was not singed nor were their garments affected,
and the smell of fire was not on them"
(Dan.
3:27, NKJV).

Though there's a lot more involved in this account than what we have been
told, it does seem clear that the Lord again revealed to this monarch His
power and majesty in a way that did, indeed, reach the king. One might have
thought that, after what He had already shown Nebuchadnezzar of His power
(chapter
2), the Lord would have been through with the defiant and arrogant
king. However, even despite this blatant act of defiance against Him, the
Lord again showed His mercy and patience toward Nebuchadnezzar.

What
other examples can we find in the Bible of the Lord
giving powerful leaders numerous chances? What do these accounts tell us
about His character? What hope do they offer for us? See, for instance,
Exodus
7-15,
2
Sam. 12:1-13. At the same time, what are the limitations of His
patience with us?

What
effect did the miracle in the fiery furnace have on the king?Dan.3:26-28.

On the surface, then, it seems that the king certainly came to realize something
of the might and power of the Lord of heaven and earth. Yet, as subsequent
chapters will show, believing in God or even confessing His power isn't enough.
The king needed, instead, to know the Lord
(John
17:3). This is a crucial distinction. Knowing God is more than just
knowing propositional truths about Him. The most unregenerate degenerate
can believe in God's eternal nature, His creative power, and even His atoning
death.

It's one thing, though, to believe in the God of the Bible or to even
acknowledge His power. Demons know about both
(James
2:19). It's another thing to know Rim as your Lord and Savior. Do
you simply believe in God, or do you know Him
(John
17:3)? Explain your answer. The answer makes all the difference in
the world.

According to Ellen White, Nebuchadnezzar understood who the fourth Being
was: "How did that heathen king know what the Son of God was like? The Hebrew
captives filling positions of trust in Babylon had in life and character
represented before him the truth. When asked for a reason of their faith,
they had given it without hesitation. Plainly and simply they had presented
the principles of righteousness, thus teaching those around them of the God
whom they worshiped. They had told of Christ, the Redeemer to come; and in
the form of the fourth in the midst of the fire the king recognized the Son
of God."Prophets and Kings, p.
509.

Discussion
Question:

In Moby Dick, Herman Melville wrote about
a man who was asked to worship the idol of his pagan roommate, Queequeg.
Follow the logic of the man's reasoning. "I was a good Christian; born and
bred in the bosom of the infallible Presbyterian Church. How then could I
unite with this wild idolater in worshipping his piece of wood? . . . But
what is worship?to do the will of Godthat is worship. And what
is the will of God?to do to my fellow man what I would have my fellow
man to do to methat is the will of God. Now, Queequeg is my fellow
man. And what do I wish that this Queequeg would do to me? Why, unite with
me in my particular Presbyterian form of worship. Consequently, I must then
unite with him in his; ergo, I must turn idolater."Moby Dick
(New York: Washington Square Press, 1999), p. 70. What's wrong with this
reasoning? What does this tell us about how easy it is to rationalize wrong
spiritual
decisions?

Summary:

The three Hebrew boys refused to compromise where it mattered. As Christians,
we need to know what matters and then never compromise on those things.

I
N S I D E
Story

As Little Children

It is easy to understand why children hold a special place in God's heart.
When Kathy Seeley, primary-unit teacher in an Adventist Academy in the United
States, saw her children fervently drawing pictures one day, she asked what
they were doing. The children announced that they were going to sell the
pictures. Mrs. Seeley smiled at their enthusiasmuntil she saw the children
selling their pictures in the parking lot for three cents each. The children
brought the money to her and announced that it was for missions.

Then they made bookmarks to sell. After another parking lot selling spree,
Mrs. Seeley realized the children were serious about raising money for missions
and provided craft supplies to help them. The children decided they wanted
to use their money to build a church in Papua New Guinea.

Mrs. Seeley had contacted a missionary in Papua New Guinea who knew of a
group of believers who had no church. The missionary emailed pictures of
"their" project to encourage the children toward their goal.

When school closed for the summer, the children had raised $123 toward their
goal. And when school resumed in September, the children were eager to continue
their fund-raising. Some picked blueberries and donated proceeds; a home-schooled
child painted rocks and sold them.

And
the school sponsored a yard sale with earnings going to the church in Papua
New Guinea. Primary children priced donations for the sale and helped at
various tables during the sale. When the sales were tallied, the children
had earned more than one thousand dollars in a single day. Their total earnings
came to more than one thousand six hundred dollars, enough to build the church
and provide a few extras, such as hand-cranked tape recorders, so the illiterate
villagers can listen to the Bible.

Some of Mrs. Seeley's school children with their offerings. Charlotte
Ishkanian is editor of Mission.